Just When It Looked Like Todd Akin Was Making A Comeback, He Stuck His Foot In His Mouth Again

On Wednesday, things were looking up for Missouri Rep. Todd Akin in his Senate race against Democrat Claire McCaskill.

It was clear he was staying in the race. Prominent Tea Party Republicans like Rick Santorum and Jim DeMint offered support. More importantly, the National Republican Senatorial Committee signaled it would change its position and offer financial support.

Thursday, though, gave Akin another chance to stick his foot in his mouth and set his campaign back again. Akin told The Kansas City Star in an interview published Thursday that McCaskill did not act very "ladylike" in their debate last week, causing more backlash from both sides of the aisle.

“I think we have a very clear path to victory, and apparently Claire McCaskill thinks we do, too, because she was very aggressive at the debate, which was quite different than it was when she ran against Jim Talent,” Akin said. “She had a confidence and was much more ladylike (in 2006), but in the debate on Friday she came out swinging, and I think that’s because she feels threatened.”

"That puts him in a difficult position. By the way, Akin saying that there are some people in Washington who don't understand conservatism — I don't think that's the case. And again ... people are debating whether we are going to be the conservative party or the moderate party. I'm just tired of us being the Stupid Party. You talk about the Stupid Party — the Stupid Party selects Akin when they know he's the least likely to win a general election and get Harry Reid out of the Majority Leader position."

McCaskill, meanwhile, came out swinging herself this morning on the show. Here's her key quote on Akin:

"I mean, this is somebody who kind of makes Michele Bachmann look like a hippie."